Reinforced easel structure



Feb. 20, 1962 C. N. CROSS REINFORCED EASEL STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 10, 1960 INVENTOR.

UAZQOAL /V Gems" Arrow/E) v 3,021,631 REINFORCED EASEL STRUCTURE Carroll N. Cress, Rte. 2, Box 304, Maitland, Fla. Filed Aug. 10, 1960, er. No. 48,771 4 Claims. (Cl. 40-120) This invention relates to display mounts, and in particular to reinforce supporting props for display mounts.

Mounts for displaying desk calendars, pictures, photographs and the like, usually include a face panel or face panel assembly on or in which the display material is mounted, and a back panel or back panel assembly in which a mount supporting prop is formed such that it can be rotated about a hinge line into angularly disposed mount supporting position.

In the construction of mounts composed of a pinrality of superimposed panels of paperboard, it is desirable that such panels be bound into a unitary structure by means of an adhesively attached thin, flexible binding material which overlies a face of such assembly and extends about the edges thereof. Many advantages are derived from such fabricating procedure as pointed out in my United States Patent 2,092,348, issued September 7, 1937.

A limitation of structures, of the kind stated, however, is the dificulty involved in forming multi-ply supporting props without resort to additional manufacturing operations. If a mount supporting prop, such as, for example, that shown in my United States Patent 2,240,209; issued April 29, 1941, is cut into a mount back assembly of several unattached superimposed panels of paperboard stock, it must be formed in the outer panel only. it is obvious that a prop cut through a pair of freely superimposed panels would undesirably result in a pair of separate prop elements unless some special means, such ase gluing or stapling, were employed to hold the prop elements of the respective panels together as a unit.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to make possible the formation of multi-ply mount supporting props cut from within the margins of a back assembly without the necessity of employing special or separately applied means for connecting to each other the plies of a prop so formed.

In its more particular aspect, the invention contemplates a display mount having a base edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface and which has a back assembly consisting of an inner panel of paperboard extending to the base edge of the mount, and an outer panel of paperboard in back-to-back contact with the inner panel, but having an edge terminating above the base edge of the mount. These panels are held together by a flexible adhesively attached binding material overlying the outer face of the assembly and extending about the edges there- 7 of. When a supporting prop is now out through the bound panels along lines of severance which are spaced inwardly of the lateral edges of the assembly and by a line of severance above the base edge but below the terminal edge of the outer panel of the back assembly, the prop sections will be held together for operation as a unit by the binding material which overlies the face of the outer panel, spans the terminal edge of the outer prop section and is also adhesively joined to that part of the face of the inner ply of the prop which is exposed below the terminal edge of the outer ply of the structure.

A specific embodiment of the invention is described hereinbelow in reference to the drawing forming a part of this application and in which drawing like reference numerals indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective facial view of a display mount which embodies the invention, parts being broken away to show underlying structure;

3,921,631 Patented Feb. 20, 1962 FIG. 2 is a perspective rear view of the mount;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a developed view of the mount blank showing preliminary cutting and scoring operations performed thereon.

The body of the mount is ordinarily formed by suitably cutting and scoring a generally elongated more or less rectangular blank of paperboard stock 16. The blank 10 is divided into a plurality of panel sections by a series of parallel transverse fold lines 12, 14 and 16. The transverse fold lines represent a suitable weakening of the blank material to permit folding the blank on these lines without breaking the paperboard stock. Consequently, the lines may be scored, routed, perforated, partially cut, or they may be formed by using two or more of these or other weakening techniques in combination. The transverse fold lines 12, 1'4 and 16 divide the panel blank 10 into-a face panel 18, a back panel 20, an inner panel 22 and an outer panel 24. The face panel 18 and the back panel 26, when folded into contact with each other, comprise a face assembly, while the inner panel 22 and the outer panel 24, when folded into contact with each other constitute a back assembly.

Prior to any blank folding operation, it may be found convenient to form therein certain incisions as, for example, die cutting of the inner panel 22 to form therein a prop latching tongue 26. This tongue is severed from the inner panel 22, along more or less parallel lines 2% and 36, which extend from a score line 32 toward the fold line 16 and by a transverse incision 34 between the lines 23 and 30 forming the free end of the tongue 26. The free end of the tongue has a projection 36 which is adapted to engage a socket 38 cut into the back panel 20 preferably at the time the tongue 26 is die cut. The inner panel 22 has a transverse hinge line 40 scored therein which is adapted to register with a parallel incision 42 cut through the outer panel 24. The score line 50 and the incision 42 are equidistant from the fold line 16 by which the panels 22 and 24 are separated such that when these panels are folded into contact with each other by rotating the same on the fold line 16, the score line 49 in the inner panel 22 and the incision 42 in the outer panel 24 will register with each other and provide for a supporting prop hinge in the finished article.

if desired, the back panel 29 may be pre-cut according to the method of my United States Patent 2,355,706, issued August 15, 1944, to provide for a display material well in the face assembly. The blank 10 is now folded about the fold lines 12, 1d and 16. Thus, the face panel 18 and the back panel 24 are rotated about the fold line 12 to bring these panels in back-to-back contact with each other. The inner panel 22 is folded upwardly on the fold line 14 to bring it into face-to-face contact with the back panel 2! and the outer panel 24 is folded downwardly on the fold line 16 to bring it into back-to-back contact with the inner panel 20. As so folded, the fold line 14 and the outer end 44 of the face panel constitute the base line of the mount assembly.

After the blank 10 has been folded as described it is bound into a unitary structure by adhesively attaching a thin decorative binding material 46 to the exposed surfaces of the outer panel 24 and the inner panel 22. This binding material is turned about the edges of the assembly and terminates on the exposed surface of the face assembly, i.e., the exposed face of the face panel 13.

Following the binding operation, the outer panel 24 and the inner panel 22 and the attached binding material a-re die cut to form a mount supporting prop 47. Thus, the back assembly comprising the panels 22 and 24 is cut along a pair of generally parallel lines 48 and 50. These cuts extend from the registering score line 40 3 and incision 42. to a point near the base fold line 14 where a transverse cut 56 joins the lower end of the parallel cuts 52 and 54. This cutting operation results in a unitary mount supporting prop structure as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It will be noted by reference to FIG. 4 that the outer panel 2 is shorter than the inner panel 22. Thus, when the outer panel 24 is folded into back-to-back contact with the inner panel 22 by rotating the same inwardly on the fold line 16, the terminal end 69 of the outer panel 24 will be above the base of the mount as represented by the fold line 14. Thus, when the prop is die cut as described, and the transverse incision 56 in the inner panel 22 is formed between the base of the prop and the terminal edge 69 of the outer panel 24, the die cut plies of panels 22 and 24 forming the supporting prop 4? are held together by the adhesively attached binding material 46 which is attached to the exposed face of the outer panel 24 and the exposed projecting end of the inner panel 22 such that the material extends across the terminal edge as of the outer panel 24 and thereby holds the two-plies of the supporting prop 47 together.

If the outer panel 24 were made coextensive with the inner panel 22 and a supporting prop were cut through both panels, the separate plies of the prop would be undesirably separate from each other unless the confronting faces thereof were glued together or some other means were employed to cause them to operate as a unit.

A month-to-month calendar pad or other display material 62 may be attached to the front of the face assembly or the face assembly may be otherwise modified or treated as the intended use of the mount may require.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the supporting prop 47 may swing about the hinge line formed by the incision 42 in the outer panel 24 and the score line 40 in the inner panel 22, such that the latch tongue 26 formed in the inner panel 22, can be swung inwardly to engage the Socket 38 formed in the backpanel 20 of the face assembly.

The fact that the supporting prop S8 is a two-ply structure, invests it with the necessary strength to avoid bending and warping. Heretofore, single ply supporting props were frequently found to be subject to warping and bending, particularly in mounts of substantial size. It has been a primary object in the fabrication of display mounts to avoid all tendencies for any of the elements thereof to bend or warp, and the reinforced prop herein contributes substantially toward this objective since single ply props heretofore employed were frequently the most vulnerable element of the entire structure.

While the fundamentally novel features of the invention have been illustrated and described in connection with a specific embodiment of the invention, it is believed that this embodiment will enable others skilled in the art to apply the principles of the invention in forms departing from the exemplary embodiment herein, and such departures are contemplated by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a display mount having a base edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface, a back assembly consisting of an inner panel extending to the base edge of said mount and an outer panel in back-to-back contact with said inner panel, said outer panel having an edge terminating above the base edge of said mount, a flexible binding material adhesively attached to the exposed faces of said back assembly, and a supporting prop in said back assembly adapted to swing about a hinge line substantially parallel to and remote from said base edge, said supporting prop being defined by lines of severance from said back assembly which are spaced inwardly from the l-atera ledges of said back assembly and by a line of severance above said base edge but below said terminal edge of said outer panel.

2. In a display mount having a base edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface, a back assembly consisting of an inner panel extending to the base edge of said mount and an outer panel in back-to-back contact with said inner panel, said outer panel having an edge terminating above the base edge of said mount, a flexible binding material adhesively attached to the exposed face of said back assembly, and a supporting prop in said back assembly adapted to swing about a hinge line substantially parallel to and remote from said base edge, said supporting prop being defined by a pair of substantially parallel lines of severance from said back assembly which are spaced inwardly from the lateral edges of said back assembly and by a line of severance substantially parallel to said base edge and which is located above said base edge but below said terminal edge of said outer panel.

3. in a display mount having a base edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface, a back assembly consisting of an inner panel extending to the base edge of said mount and an outer panel in back-to-back contact with said inner panel, said outer panel having an edge terminating above the base edge of said mount, a flexible binding material adhesively attached to the exposed face of said back assembly, and a supporting prop in said back assembly adapted to swing about a hinge line substantially parallel to and remote from said base edge, said supporting prop being defined by lines of severance from said back assembly which are spaced inwardly from the lateral edges of said back assembly and by a line of severance above said base edge but below said terminal edge of said outer panel, and a prop latching tongue formed in said inner panel.

,4. In a display mount having a base edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface, a back assembly consisting of an inner panel extending to the base edge of said mount and an outer panel in back-to-back contact with said inner panel, said outer panel having an edge terminating above the base edge of said mount, a flexible binding material adhesively attached to said base assembly extending about the edges of said panels and being adhesively attached thereto, and a supporting prop in said back assembly adapted to swing about a hinge line substantially parallel to and remote from said base edge, said supporting prop being defined by a pair of substantially parallel lines of severance from said back assembly which are spaced inwardly from the lateral edges of said back assembly and by a line of severance substantially parallel to said base edge and which is located above said base edge but below said terminal edge of said outer panel, and a prop latching tongue formed in said inner panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

